


Lost and running

by Emptynarration



Category: Youtube RPF, markiplier - Fandom, youtube - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Medieval, M/M, Medieval, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-23
Updated: 2019-01-25
Packaged: 2019-10-15 03:36:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17521238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emptynarration/pseuds/Emptynarration
Summary: All Markus ever knew was running away, further and further away from wherever he had come from. But surviving as something people called a freak, grotesque, a waste, was hard. Especially in a kingdom where people seemed to think the homeless, the beggars, were nothing but dirt under their boots.Except one kind stranger, who saved his life, and caused old memories to return.(Host is named Markus, Dr Iplier is named Edward)





	1. Chapter 1

All he ever knew was traveling. Running.  _Fleeing_.  
Away from a kingdom he couldn’t remember the name of, chasing the horizon. He couldn’t remember anymore why he was running, from what, from whom. He didn’t know where he was going.

Sitting on the cold stones of the ground, paving the streets and alleys of the town. He was rather sure he was in the capital of the kingdom, the castle nearby. People were especially bad here, if he was honest.  
Mostly, passerbys ignored him, as they did with any homeless beggar they found. Some spared a glance, some made a face. The people here thought people like him -homeless, begging to stay alive- as something beneath human. It was horrible, but he couldn’t afford traveling right now.

Winter was coming.

He was cold, shivering as he pulled his knees closer to himself, curled up on the ground and watching the blur of people pass by. He didn’t have shoes, hadn’t since he’s outgrowned the last pair he had had to the point he really couldn’t wear them anymore. At least he had a thick scarf, acting as a little blanket.

“Freak.”

Someone spat, and Markus didn’t bother looking up at them. He wouldn’t be able to make anything out anyways, most likely. At least the person walked past quickly, and he was left shivering in the cold.

His sight had gotten worse, ever since he could remember. Everything was a foggy blur of colour, and if it was dark, or foggy, or heavily raining, he could basically not see at all. At least his light brown eyes -shining gold- looked normal. He just knew people would despise him even more if they knew he was as good as blind.

Causing the comment of the passerby, and many more like it, was his skin, though. The years living outside under the sun had given him a deeper tan, but he had some sort of sickness, disease, he wasn’t sure, that caused his skin to have white patches.  
While he tried to cover most of his skin -for warmth more than anything- he couldn’t hide the obvious patch of white covering his eyes, or the small patch on his forehead, causing a white strand among the dark brown locks. Even patches on his hands and wrists made his life hard.

This kingdom, they hated not only the homeless, the beggars, but also the different. People like Markus were treated like dirt under the riches’ boots.  
But until winter has passed, he wouldn’t be able to travel, find another kingdom to stay for a while. He didn’t have a lot of money on his person. People rarely spared him anything here.  
He had to keep it for the coldest nights, and that was only once he would be covered in snow. Food wasn’t as important. He could find old scraps, anything remotely edible. But he couldn’t save himself from freezing to death.

Glancing up, Markus noticed that someone else had stopped walking in front of him. He wouldn’t be surprised if he got hurt -some workers had fun beating up the people living on the streets. But he couldn’t do anything else but watch vague movements of the person doing something, pulling something out.  
It reminded him vaguely of thieves and robbers on the roads between towns, out in the land. He tried to never carry too much with him, but something to sate people robbing him so they’d leave him alive.

“I’m sorry I can’t give you more.”, the person -a man, Markus realized- said, holding out his hand to him. He was hesitant, before holding out his hand, and felt coins falling into it.  
“Thank you so much.”, Markus said softly, pulling his hand close to him again. He was so cold. He felt over the coins, amazed. It was definitely the most he had gotten in this kingdom, no matter if this wasn’t a lot to the man in front of him.  
“I hope I can help at least a little.”, the man said, and Markus was sure he could hear a smile in that voice. Kind, warm, caring.  
“Thank you.”, was all he could reply, voice soft, but smiling at the kind stranger. He couldn’t see if the man did anything else, before he continued walking again.

  
The same kind man found him again and again. Always giving him a few coins, whatever he seemed able to spare at the time. Markus couldn't be more grateful, knowing this person would guarantee him a few days inside an inn for cold nights.

And winter came early.

It got cold fast. At first, it was just a cold that creeped into Markus, whenever he sat still too long. But then the cold got biting, and Markus found himself freezing. Sleeping outside was quickly becoming dangerous. He had to sacrifice strips of his scarf to wrap around his feet, especially his toes. He knew he could risk losing them, or his fingers, if they got too cold. Freeze off, quite literally.  
It got worse when it started to snow. Staying anywhere close between buildings was near impossible, people screaming at him, at everyone who dared try. Getting handsy, hurtful. So it was outside in the open for him, and many others. Well, a few. There weren't a lot, likely because the survival rate of the homeless in this kingdom was very low.

He used the money he had saved -so so much from the kind stranger- to stay nights in an inn. It was hard finding one who even allowed him to stay, but he managed. A bed to sleep in was heavenly, and Markus tried to sleep as much as possible, so he could survive outside of it as long as possible awake.  
But it would be cold for months. And his money -what little that he got- wouldn't last for the entire winter. He was trying to stay outside as much as possible, but sometimes, he slept a whole day, barely managing to wake up again, snow covering his form.

Eventually, his money did run out. Snow laid high on the ground outside, covering his whole feet if he wasn't on the main roads. He tried to find a safer spot to stay. One he had been many times before, though even it was covered rather badly in snow. Feet and hands already numb, he dug the snow away from the ground and made a little mould in the snow, settling on the ground.  
He knew this wasn't good. He was cold, and even his shivering was weak. Feet and hands completely numb. It had been a few days since he had been able to stay inside the inn, and he was slowly freezing to his death.  
He knew if he slept now, the chances of waking up again were rather low. It was snowing again, thick flakes laying on the ground and onto him. He pulled his thin hood deeper into his face, trying to save himself from some of the snow, even if it barely did anything.

He watched through half-lidded eyes as people walked along the street. Warm. Hurrying to get to their homes. Winter was a slightly less crowded time, even here. He couldn't see the puffs of air that would leave every person. The fog mingled too well with the general white of everything. He wondered if his own breath caused a foggy cloud as well.

When he blinked his eyes open again, he noticed it was dark. Or darker. Too dark for him to really see anything. He did see the white of the snow, though, reflecting whatever bit of light hit them. But something was in his vision, something dark, and vaguely human shaped.  
“Are you awake?”, the person -man- asked, and Markus recognized it. The kind man, who he had barely seen during the winter. He did move more when it was cold, trying to stay warm somehow. That was probably why.  
“No, no no no don't fall asleep on me-”

Markus hadn't noticed his eyes had slipped shut again. But he was so tired, and he wanted so desperately to sleep. He knew he _shouldn't_ , but he wanted to.

“No, hey, stay awake-”

Warm, strong arms wrapped around him, and he was barely conscious enough to notice he was being picked up. He laid limb in the man's arms, leaning against a warm chest. It was radiating heat, and Markus heard the man's heartbeat.

“I'll help you, just please, stay awake..”

It was more of a mutter, but Markus still heard it. It was the last thing he heard, actually, as he slipped into the comfortable darkness of unconsciousness.

He was warm.

Why was he warm?

And he laid in a bed. It was soft. That explained why he felt warm. A bed was warm, of course it was. Everything was warm, and he felt warm, and good. Until his stomach ached, and he groaned, curling up tightly on his side. It felt like his stomach was trying to eat itself, which wasn't very surprising. He hadn't eaten anything in days, and what he had eaten then had been nothing but scraps, some starting to rot even.

After the ache had settled a little, Markus slowly opened his eyes. He was in a bedroom, if he were to guess. The sun was shining in through the window, and a little fireplace kept the room warm. Looking around while trying to stay in the blanket, he saw the room was more than just a bedroom. It were the living quarters of someone, a home. He didn't see anyone though.

It was then that he noticed a mug next to the bed, and a piece of paper. He had no idea what could be written on it -he couldn't read. His sight was too bad, and he couldn't remember if he had ever been able to read. He could recognize some letters, so he guessed once he could read.  
Hoping the mug was for him, he lifted it off the ground carefully, sitting up slowly to drink. He noticed he was still in his clothes, but he was a little cleaner than before. His hands, and feet, and probably his face, were all cleaned off from the grime that seemed to have become part of him.

He took small sips of water, realizing how parched he had been. Snow had never been the best source of water, but he survived with it. This was proper clean water though, meant to be consumed.

Markus had no clue how much time had passed. The mug was back where he had gotten it from again, and he was sitting against the headboard, wrapped tightly in the blankets that had covered him the entire time he must have slept here.  
The door opened, and his gaze immediately moved to the movement, clutching the blanket tightly. He remembered the kind man had rescued him. He had almost frozen to death. An experience he had gone through once before, and had been saved from once before. It had been years ago, though.

The man moved around, doing things, not yet noticing his.. guest? was awake yet. But when he did, he froze on the spot, and Markus wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.  
“You're awake.”. He sounded... almost in awe. Relieved. Markus didn't fully understand. He did nod lightly though, and the man walked over. His hands were gentle as the pushed Markus' hair out of his face, gently holding his face in his hands, before pulling back.  
“Thank you for saving me.”, Markus said, voice quiet. This close, he could tell the man had a slight tan, and dark brown -or maybe black- hair that hung slightly in his face.  
“Of course. I couldn't just.. let you freeze to death.”, the man replied with a smile. He was so kind, so different from what Markus was used to from this kingdom.

“I'm Edward, a doctor. What's your name?”, the man - _Edward_ \- introduced himself.  
“Markus.”, Markus replied, and smiled softly. No one had bothered to ask his name in a long time, but he would never forget it. It was his name, and he clung to it like a lifeline, when he felt like he was nothing worth mentioning. He was still human.  
“It's nice to properly meet you, Markus.”, Edward said, and his voice was as warm as Markus felt. “I'll make some soup. I'm so glad you've woken up. I was afraid you might not.”.  
Markus watched as Edward moved away again from the bed, doing things, preparing and starting to make soup, most likely. He was looking forward to something warm to eat.

It was a comfortable silence that settled over them as Edward made them soup, and once it was done, he carried two bowls back to the bed.  
“Here we go.”, he said softly, giving one bowl and spoon to Markus, before sitting down on the edge of it as well. They ate in silence, and Markus was so incredibly glad for warm food, and his stomach was as well. He couldn't remember the last time he had had a warm meal.

“Can I ask where you're from?”, Edward asked suddenly, startling Markus. He looked up at him, just to see Edward looking at him.  
“I...”, Markus started, unsure.  
“I'm not from here, you know.”, Edward said, smiling lightly. He could guess it wouldn't be easy for Markus, so he'd tell him about himself first a little. “I'm from a kingdom pretty far from here, actually. And am just passing through, more or less. I come from Elysium.”.  
“Why did you leave there?..”, Markus asked softly, though he was really curious. A doctor. Edward was a doctor. It was something barely anyone managed to be able to do, especially being good and actually able to help.  
“Ah..”, Edward looked away from Markus, being quiet for a moment. “The royal family. They were really kind. Loving, open-minded. Everyone loved them, pretty much. They helped everyone, homeless people, pick-pocketers who just needed to stay alive..”.  
He sighed, lowering his gaze to the bowl in his hands. “Not everyone loved them, of course. You can't be loved by everyone. But.. someone... they were assassinated. The king, the queen, their children. The castle was aflame.”. He trailed off, and Markus could tell without being able to see, how sad Edward was.

“The new rulers of the land are terrible. I couldn't stay there. Granted, I was still young, practically a child, but... I had opinions and views that would likely get me killed by the new rulers, while the old royal family embraced such thoughts.”, he continued, voice soft. Markus nodded lightly, unable to look at Edward properly.  
“I'm sorry.”, Markus said softly. Edward looked up again, smiling softly at Markus.  
“It's not your fault.”.

Edward let Markus stay in his home. He couldn't be home all day because of work -lots of people becoming sick in the cold- but whenever he was, it was nice. Markus was soon rather healthy again, able to eat solid food without worries, walking around and helping where he could.

It was an evening when Edward sat down with Markus. Nothing too unusual, since they tended to talk a lot. Edward had even cut Markus hair -he had admitted he didn't like it that long, and Edward had done his best to cut it himself, seeing how Markus hadn't wanted Edward to spend so much more money on him -he had already bought him new clothes after all.

“There's something I've wanted to talk about with you.”, Edward said softly, taking Markus' hand in his own. It wasn't too unusual, since Edward liked touching Markus and being close to him. And Markus enjoyed it, craved human affection. Maybe that was why Edward did it so much.  
“Okay.”, Markus replied softly. He had no clue what Edward could want to talk about with him. Nothing except having to set him out on the street again.  
“There's... well.. you remember when I told you about Elysium, right?”, Edward started, and Markus nodded lightly, slightly confused. “There was something special in the royal family. I remember it well, even if it was years ago, because I've always thought it curious and beautiful.”.  
Markus nodded along lightly. He remembered Elysium, but he had no clue why Edward wanted to talk about that again with him.  
“They all had patches of white covering their skin.”, Edward said, and Markus' eyes widened slightly. “I know that.. it's unlikely, but- it seems to be very rare, as I've never seen it elsewhere before, and, well, you look to be in the correct age... to... be one of the princes. The youngest of the family.”.

_Heat licking at his face. Scream echoing through the halls. Heart pounding in his chest._

“ _Run away from here-” a woman, his mother-_

“ _As fast as you can.” desperate, in pain, crying-_

“ _As far as you can.” picking him up, helping him climb through a window-_

“ _Don't ever look back.” lowering him as far as she could, letting go, almost falling to the ground-_

“ _I love you-” a sob, a scream, and he ran, he ran-_

Markus gasped, tears rolling down his cheeks, and he was face to face with Edward, who was holding his face gently in his hands.  
“It's okay. I'm here. You're here. You're safe.”, Edward spoke softly, and Markus couldn't help but sob, remembering how he had to flee his homeland as a young child, having to hide from people wanting him dead.  
Edward pulled him into his arms, and Markus clung to him, sobbing into Edward's chest. He hadn't remembered because it had been such a terrible event. And with his sight worsening, he couldn't see his own reflection. Maybe he would have remembered earlier, if anyone had told him how he looked like. He knew he had white patches on parts of his body, but...

“You're safe here with me. I won't set you out on the street again. We'll leave this kingdom, this horrible place, and go somewhere nicer.”, Edward murmured, as Markus calmed down again. He couldn't imagine how he could have been a prince, once. He was probably twice as old now, maybe more.   
“Thank you.”, his voice quiet and carrying the sadness of his previous crying. Edward just held him tighter to himself, holding him safe in his arms.

 


	2. Becoming lost, having to run

“C'mon Markus!”, Arthur tugged on the smaller boy's hand, pulling him along with him. Arthur was ten years old, with a normal skin colour -royals were supposed to be as white as snow, but this royal family quite liked being out in the sun. Not so that they got darkly tanned, but a healthy skin colour. He had white patches of skin covering most of his hands and arms, splotches visible on his neck as well. Eyes a bright warm brown colour, almost changing colour in different lighting.

The boy he was pulling along by his hand was half his age -five right now- and definitely a lot smaller and more petite. He also had white patches of skin, covering the area around his eyes and making his lashes white as well, a spot on his forehead causing a strand of hair to be white as well. He had spots of white on his hands, though not as much as Arthur had. His eyes big and curious, a bright colour they shined golden in the light.

“Don' go so fast.”, he whined as Arthur pulled him along. Arthur was his older brother, and Markus adored and admired him. He was so brave, and strong, and smart, and confident. Markus loved him a whole lot. And even though Arthur didn't appear to be, he loved his little brother too.  
“Cmon!”, Arthur replied, though he did go a little slower. Markus was considerably smaller than him after all, and so were his steps. It was why he was holding his hand -so Markus wouldn't fall behind. “I wanna show you something!”.

Together they went out into the gardens -both of their favourite place- and Arthur continued leading Markus, though slower now. The older boy had always been the more adventurous of the two, but Markus loved tagging along, if only to spend time with his big brother.  
They slowed down more the further they got into the garden, and Arthur let go of Markus' hand so he could pull away branches for his sibling to get through a hedge. Following behind him, they didn't have much further to go until Arthur halted.  
“Look.”, he said quietly, pointing ahead a little bit as he stayed on his knees, Markus following suit. Looking ahead, he saw a little bunny family, and his eyes widened a little.  
“Buns!”, he exclaimed, though he kept his voice quiet. He always did as Arthur, and if he was quiet, he was as well. Getting the bright smile from his older sibling made him smile brightly as well. “They so cute!”.  
Arthur giggled lightly and nodded, ruffling Markus' hair. “Cute like my baby brother!”, he said with a big grin, Markus huffing and pouting, though he really didn't mind the treatment that much. He loved affections.

Together they stayed there and watched the bunnies for a while, talking quietly which each other at how cute the baby bunnies were -not quite babies anymore, since they were out of their home, but still so cute and small. They only left when a servant was calling for them, which scared the bunnies off.

Arthur did have to learn a lot. He was the heir to the throne, so he didn't have all day to play with Markus, or read with him. Markus' sight wasn't the best, he couldn't see things sharply, but he managed to be able to read if he held the book somewhat close to himself to see. He wasn't great yet, but Arthur helped him whenever they were reading together -either both their own things, or Arthur reading a book with Markus, helping his little sibling.  
Arthur always told Markus how he really didn't want to become king. It was too much work, and he didn't want to deal with any of what he learned. Their parents were good at what they were doing, why did he have to do that some time? But, he was the older sibling, so he had to take the throne eventually.

Markus didn't really understand. He didn't know what duties and responsibilities the king had, only that he had to hold court and listen to the people. The throne room was open for anyone to come in, and if the king was there, he was more than open to talk to the people. As well as his wife, and everyone working in the castle who could spare time to talk. Markus didn't like being there, because he didn't like strangers too much. He only went if Arthur brought him there.

That didn't change through the following years either. Arthur dragged him along with him in every spare minute he had, and Markus more than happily followed. His sight was getting worse slowly, making reading more of a chore than a joy when he was eight. Arthur though, thirteen now, liked to read, and read for Markus. In turn, Markus made up his own stories.  
Their adventures never ceased, the two of them slipping out of the castle's walls and to the town just a short walk away -a little longer for the children, but still not very far away from the castle. It was, next to the castle, the safest place for them to play and explore. There were enough guards to make sure they, as the town, were safe, and would bring him home. But the town's people were also so kind and nice, looking out for the two of them. It was a dream for the two children. Even if their parents always chided the two of them, telling them they shouldn't just go to town -especially without telling them first.

Markus was nine when he was awoken by the frantic shaking of his shoulders from his brother.  
“Markus! We need to leave, hurry!”, he said, practically dragging Markus out of the bed. He stumbled along, blinking tiredly. It was late, and dark, and he couldn't see very well -his bad eyesight made seeing in the dark incredibly hard.  
“What's going on?..”, he asked, getting dragged around by Arthur without a care, making sure Markus got dressed quickly, before pulling him out of his room.  
“There's bad people in the castle, and- I think something's burning. We need to get out!”, Arthur replied, starting to run down the halls, and Markus followed suit -having no other choice, since Arthur was clutching his hand tightly in his own.  
“Bad- bad people? Burning?”, Markus asked, confused. Screams echoed through the halls, making him afraid, holding tighter onto Arthur and running as fast as he could.  
“I don't know! But- we have to find mom and dad. We have to get out.”, Arthur replied. They shut up then, having to focus on running and breathing.

When they turned a corner, there was someone lighting things aflame, the hallway further down already burning. The children froze, staring wide-eyed at the man with the torch. Who turned, and saw them.  
Arthur reacted first, and hurried to run in the opposite direction, pulling Markus with him. But he stumbled from the sudden turn and pull, still not catching up quite with what was happened. It caused him to fall, hand slipping out of Arthur's, who quickly turned and pulled him back to his feet.  
“Come on we need to go quickly!”, he urged, scared -as scared as Markus was, seeing the reality of what was going on. He yelped when he was suddenly picked up by the back of his shirt, out of Arthur's hand. The man -bigger and faster than them- had easily caught up to them.

“Let me go!”, Markus screamed, struggling in the man's grasp, but the collar of his shirt was digging painfully into his throat, making breathing harder too. Tears gathered in his eyes, trying to get away.  
“Let my brother go!”, Arthur yelled and kicked the man into the shins as strong as he could, thankfully causing him to drop Markus, who quickly scrambled to his feet.  
“ _RUN!_ ”, Arthur yelled, and Markus ran. He couldn't do anything but run, gasping for breath as he did.

He noticed too late that Arthur wasn't with him, and he would've turned back to go get him, help him, not wanting to be alone -he was  _terrified_ \- but there was another man, and he saw Markus, and all he could do was  _run_.

He came upon his mother, thick tears rolling down his cheeks and sobbing through gasps of air. She embraced him and picked him up easily, before she continued running away from the man that had chased Markus.  
“A-arthur- he's- a man-”, Markus tried to tell his mom, between sobs and desperate breaths of air. He could feel her frantic heartbeat against his hands, clinging to her chest.  
“I'll get him, he'll be fine, it's okay.”, she shushed him as best as he could, but even Markus could tell that she was scared. He had never seen his mom like this, and it scared him even more.

“You have to run away. We'll find you. You're a big boy.”, she ran into a room and slammed the door shut, locking it before hurrying to the window.  
“Run away from here.”, she said, taking shaking breaths, trying to stay strong for him, as she opened the window. “As fast as you can.”.  
“But, mom-”, Markus sobbed, his mother picking him up and kissing his cheeks gently. “Run as far as you can. Don't ever look back.”.  
She helped him out of the window, holding onto his tiny, thin wrists, lowering him down. His big eyes wet with tears, which still ran down his face steadily.  
“Mom-”, he sobbed, and her smile was so full of  _pain._ She let him go, and he fell the last distance to the ground, yelping as he almost fell, looking up at her.  
“I love you-”, she said, before screaming, being roughly pulled back from the window.

And Markus ran.

He ran away from the castle.

Away from the flames.

He ran as fast as he could.

And only collapsed once he managed to ran as far as he could.

**Author's Note:**

> This got way longer than I had intended it to get
> 
> Just some fun in my AU


End file.
